


Through the cracks I see you (and you're beautiful)

by allegedlyanandroid



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Awkward situations, Banter, Blood and Injury, Bottom Upgraded Connor | RK900, Come Sharing, Confessions, Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900 are Siblings, Developing Relationship, Deviant Upgraded Connor | RK900, Excessive Swearing, Gavin Reed Being Slightly Less of an Asshole, Hurt/Comfort, Internal Conflict, M/M, Moving In Together, Non-Deviated Upgraded Connor | RK900, Pet Names, Rutting, Safe Sane and Consensual, Temporary Character Death, Top Gavin Reed, Turns Into Gavin Reed Not Being an Asshole, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has No Genitalia, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has a Praise Kink, Wire Play, sort of enemies to friends to lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:27:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26321146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allegedlyanandroid/pseuds/allegedlyanandroid
Summary: Gavin is still keeping a firm grasp on his hand when the cable is inserted into a slot in his neck. Minutes tick by with the clacking of keys as the primary backdrop while Nines sifts through his memories dispassionately, glossing over his less-than-satisfactory meeting with his partner and their first few cases together. Until... until he reaches one memory in particular. He stalls on it, vaguely recalling it had been one of the very first times he’d been genuinely confused.- - -With his body damaged beyond repair, Nines' memories are set to be transferred into a different AI-core. Gavin is right there by his side through the harrowing process and seeing the progression of their partnership through Nines' perspective gives him some valuable insight into his partner's mind. It also showcases Nines' slow process of becoming a person despite the limitations of his code.
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 24
Kudos: 158





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A huge shout-out to caffeinatedjimmie who agreed to beta this monstrosity for me! She's currently writing a fic of her own called Limits of a Machine which you can find [here!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23543758/) And she has a tumblr where she posts artwork, both DBH-related and not,+ [here!](https://caffeinatedjimmie.tumblr.com)

**Through the cracks I see you (and you’re beautiful)**

A probe into his drifting consciousness drags Nines back to reality and he instinctively seeks out Gavin’s voice and the rhythm of his beating heart to steady himself. Connor bleeds amusement, layering over the feeling of dread and helplessness emanating from him in waves. He gently guides Nines to listen to Elijah Kamski informing him about the damage done to his body. Since it is excessive, he can agree to transfer his memories into another AI-core if he so wished. Though how it would affect him, short-or long-term, was hard to say. Connor had never experienced it either; although there had been a few close calls during the revolution.

Kamski would then reconstruct his body as best he could with the incomplete files he’d “acquired” from Cyberlife.

Nines agrees to it readily and Connor withdraws from his mind so the process can be done without interference. They’d transfer the data flagged as important in his storage banks first, in order for him to keep the memories he deemed the most valuable.

Gavin is still keeping a firm grasp on his hand when the cable is inserted into a slot in his neck. Minutes tick by with the clacking of keys as the primary backdrop while Nines sifts through his memories dispassionately, glossing over his less-than-satisfactory meeting with his partner and their first few cases together. Until... until he reaches one memory in particular. He stalls on it, vaguely recalling it had been one of the first times he’d been genuinely confused.

Beside him, he hears Gavin mutter a quiet “what the hell?”, before it consumes him.

-~-

It’s been a shit day. Actually, scratch that; it’s been a shit _week_. Possibly a shit month. Either way the entire morning had definitely not been going in Gavin’s favour. Already tired from working six days a week because of the lower occupancy within the precinct, all on the barest minimum of sleep, he’d received a call requesting his presence at the station at too-fucking-early-in-the-morning. Turns out Anderson had been forced on sick leave after his cold had taken a turn for the worse and Connor was taking care of him.

So he dragged his half-dead, bruised ass out of bed and stopped only long enough to feed his cat and shove a verging-on-stale toast in his mouth before driving to work. The heating in his car was broken, so he arrived under-caffeinated, shivering and tired. It didn’t help when even his mostly robotic partner had mentioned he looked like shit (with a more distinguished vocabulary of course but the sentiment was the same).

They’d worked through his lunch, filling in reports and trying desperately to find any sort of clue to tip them in the direction of finding a young woman who’d been reported missing the previous day. Caroline Halsey. They’d found nothing and it was nearing late evening when Gavin moved to stand again, several joints cracking loudly in the process. _Fuck_ he felt old sometimes.

At least there seemed to be a fresh pot of coffee brewed. ‘Small mercies,’ Gavin thought to himself as he crossed the office to refill his cup for the fifth time. He rubbed at the scar marring the bridge of his nose; desperate to stave off the migraine he could feel building.

With a newly refilled cup in hand, Gavin turned to walk straight into RK900’s chest. The movement was so unexpected and jarring he lost his grip on the cup and it shattered to pieces by their feet, splattering its contents over the floor and staining their respective jeans with pinpricks of molten heat. Gavin stared down at the rapidly growing pool of brown and felt something within him snap.

He giggled, further alarming his already noticeably discomforted partner. Gavin ignored the small “Detective?” RK900 let slip. Pressing the back of his hand against his mouth in an effort to hinder the desperate snickers from escaping, Gavin moved around RK900’s frozen form and continued rapidly down the corridors of the precinct. He didn’t stop until he’d passed through the backdoor and into the cold march evening.

Gavin sank down, back against the bricks, to laugh hysterically with his head buried in his knees. The laughter hitched in his throat, choking him and morphing into tittering sobs as tears leaked through his tightly closed eyelids. He circled his arms around his knees and allowed his head to rest on them as a steady stream of tears slowly wet the dark fabric.

For a few unbothered minutes, Gavin continued to heave quiet sobs and small whimpers mixed with intervals of shuddering giggles. Next to him he could hear the tell-tale sound of squeaky hinges and defensively curled deeper in on himself.

“Detective Reed,” RK900 said, taking in the strange, huddled position and shaking shoulders with analytical eyes. “You’ve been out here a long time.”

“Fuck off,” Gavin forced out while silently cursing the way his voice hitched and broke halfway through. He didn’t bother raising his head to look at his partner.

RK900 blinked. “You are in emotional distress.”

When no answer was forthcoming it searched through its downloaded database to figure out how to deal with such an unexpected situation. Satisfied with its findings, it walked forward to stroke up and down Gavin’s back. “There, there,” it murmured in a tone a cadence lower than usual. What it didn’t expect was for Gavin to jerk away like he’d been burned and scramble sideways, away from RK900’s touch.

[SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED]  
[SOFTWARE INSTABILITY PATCHED]

“The hell are you doing?” he choked out from his sprawled-out position on the asphalt. Tears still spilled over his cheeks as he pulled in increasingly more stable breaths while he worked on overcoming his shock.

RK900 tilted its head to one side and disinterestedly regarded the mess of salt and snot Gavin was wiping at with the edge of his hoodie. “I am attempting to comfort you.”

That sent its partner into yet another laughing fit and he grinned, half-crazed, at the RK900 model standing stock still a few meters away. “Well, you’re doing a shit job of it and you can stop pretending to care now,” he spat.

“Detect–“

“No! Zip it!” Gavin yelled. “You’re not capable of caring about anyone or anything other than your fucking mission. Now leave me _the fuck_ alone!”

“I– “

[SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED]  
[SOFTWARE INSTABILITY PATCHED]

“–as you wish, Detective. We’ve received a new case involving a potential domestic dispute in which someone resorted to physical violence. The assailant is being detained but we should leave soon.”

“Gimme five minutes,” Gavin replied as he leaned his head back against the wall to stare up at the sky blankly; it seemed as if all the fight had left his body.

“Very well. I will wait by the car,” RK900 moved to stand. It brushed some dirt off of its knees and straightened the white jacket it refused to stop wearing despite Connor’s many encouraging comments. The tasks on its HUD prompted it to move away from Gavin’s quiet form, curled up on the asphalt. Somewhere, deep down, it felt the urge to stay.

-~-

”Detective Reed.”

“What?”

RK900 hesitated briefly, weighing its words carefully to find the best path in which Gavin would give it an honest answer. During the seven point three-two minutes they’d already spent driving in silence, RK900 had not taken its eyes off its partner. Gavin’s eyes were still red-rimmed and puffy even if the blotchy flush had withdrawn from his skin. His hair was a right mess.

“Why were you crying?” it asked.

The reaction was immediate and not at all positive. Gavin’s hands tightened on the steering wheel to the point where his knuckles went stark white and his stress levels spiked alarmingly. An irritated grimace stole over the previous cool indifference he’d worn as a mask. “What’s it to you?”

RK900 disregarded the hostile tone, opting to continue its probing as to further its understanding of humans. Or at least this one human in particular. “Your reaction was [ _word search initiated… word search complete:_ ] peculiar. A spilt cup of coffee should not have garnered such an over-excessive emotional response,” RK900 said, tilting its head to one side in an effort to emulate curiosity, unconsciously copying its predecessor in doing so.

“Fucking–” Gavin started to mutter, cutting himself off halfway through to turn his head and give the RK900 a baleful glare, “–none of your business!”

“Eyes on the road detective,” RK900 reminded him.

[SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED]  
[SOFTWARE INSTABILITY PATCHED]

“I was merely making an inquiry. I need to gather intelligence to know how to best reduce your stress levels until they’re working within optimal parameters again.”

“You’ve been scanning me?!” Gavin exclaimed, once again turning his gaze from the road to stare incredulously at his partner. “Don’t fucking do that! It’s _weird_ and an invasion of privacy and I don’t need you knowing every single thing about my day to day life! Got it?!”

“Noted,” RK900 replied, gaze growing unfocused as it processed the new order, which conflicted with already existing ones. Its primary task was to solve their current case with a secondary task of ensuring its partner’s overall safety. _Scan only in cases of extreme stress_ flickered to life, twining and solidifying within the second objective.

Silence descended on them once again and RK turned its attention to the front window. It scanned over the broken buildings lining the road and the people who seemed to walk hurriedly outside despite the time being almost ten thirty in the evening. Faces and names were starting to blur together before Gavin spoke again.

“It wasn’t about the coffee,” Gavin muttered abruptly but when RK900 turned its eyes back to him, Gavin’s were still stubbornly focused on the road.

“I do not understand,” RK900’s face twisted into a small, confused frown which had Gavin sighing deeply.

“Look, humans are fucking weird okay? And not all of us have healthy coping mechanisms when life… happens,” Gavin began; chancing a glance over his partner whose expression hadn’t changed in the slightest. “I don’t really deal well with emotional stress, y’know. And just–“ he tugged on his hair with one hand, “–shit starts building up after a while. All the small inconveniences and the bigger mistakes and all the fucking people I couldn’t help–”

Gavin inhaled sharply and slowly let the air hiss out through his clenched teeth. “They all mix together and then suddenly some small, stupid, inconsequential thing makes the scales tip and I end up having a goddamn mental breakdown in the middle of the fucking precinct!”

RK900 listened closely, processing and filing the information away, translating it into something it can understand. “It is the human version of overloading and shutting down?”

Gavin snorted unattractively. “Yeah, I suppose it’s similar to that.”

“I believe I understand now.”

“Heh. People spend a lot of time crying. We cry when we’re sad or happy or angry or because we’re hurting… humans are a mess,” Gavin said as they pulled up to the crime scene. He turned the keys in the ignition and moved out of the car before RK900 could respond.

It followed Gavin through the yellow tape cordoning off the area and walked a step behind him as Officer Miller briefed them on the situation, eyes slipping towards the fragile-looking android draped in a shock blanket. Even so, their conversation lingered on its mind throughout the evening.

-~-

His partner’s blind eyes seemingly burn from where he’s staring up at him, at the last place he’s been able to place Gavin’s voice most likely. Gavin squeezes Nines’ remaining hand in what amounts as a comforting gesture and gently strokes Nines’ hair away from his forehead. Flashes of cases and snippets of conversations filter across the screen. They go by at such a pace; Gavin is beginning to wonder if the lingering of Nines’ perspective of his breakdown had been a fluke.

A crackling gasp and Gavin’s head snaps to Nines’ face. “You’re okay. Ssch, you’re doing really well, big guy. Just hang on a little longer.”

Nines’ lips move as if to form words, not that he can with his throat ripped open, and another memory drags out over the screen.

-~-

The strobing lights of multiple police cars cast interesting colours over the wet pavement they were standing on. Gavin had one hand cupped over the end of a cigarette while the other flicked his lighter a few times until a flame finally burst to life. He held it to the end until the tobacco glowed amber before taking a long drag, inhaling the smoke deep into his lungs and holding it there. RK regarded him as Gavin tilted his head up and blew the lungful of smoke into the night sky.

A part of it was prompted to reiterate its point of cigarettes being a health hazard and could very well contribute to Gavin dying at an earlier age; but was forced into silence by a former order not to bother Gavin with such _meaningless_ information. It still looked at him sternly; with an air of cool indifference and mild disgust.

Gavin glared back, sighed in frustration and crushed the half-finished cigarette beneath his heel. “Happy?” he asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

RK900 refrained from answering though it also allowed its gaze to wander over the scene, catching on the flickering lights reflected in a puddle by its feet. Its audio processors pick up on Gavin’s quiet footsteps approaching him; what he doesn’t expect though is the hand coming to rest on his shoulder. It turned just enough to gaze down into its partner’s eyes and at the wholly unfamiliar smile quirking his lips. “You did a good job today.”

[SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED]  
[SOFTWARE INSTABILITY PATCHED]

And then it felt a gentle squeeze before Gavin’s hand fell away and the now well-known error message pops up again. It regarded Gavin quietly, still not having moved an inch, taking in the way he gives a half-hearted wave over his shoulder and talks to the other officers on scene before, eventually, he drove off. Hopefully towards home and not to drown his sorrows in a glass of amber liquid in some smoky bar or allowing a stranger to fight his demons for him by working him over until his voice sounded hoarse even days later.

RK900 followed obediently when an officer flags it down to drive it back to the precinct. Its last thought before falling into stasis is of Gavin’s smile and kind words. Perhaps it’ll be privy to hearing them again if it continued working diligently. It can certainly ~~hope~~.

-~-

RK900 ~~shouldn’t be able to feel this tired~~ continued working. It didn’t matter whether it was day or night. It was hired by the DPD to hunt down criminals, bring them to justice and overall act as a buffer between his ill-tempered partner and the rest of the precinct. Now, six days into a non-stop information gathering on a major red-ice distribution ring, RK900 was beginning to falter.

Its partner had rarely left either and was currently working on little less than three hours of sleep, five cups of sugar-laden coffee and _spite_. With some difficulty, RK900 turned back to its monitor, failing to notice the warnings in the left corner of its vision, which prompted an involuntary plunge into stasis, should it not initiate the necessary time for maintenance itself.

Darkness swept him under not long after.

When it became aware again, its arms were folded beneath it and its head rested on top of them. Shifting into a more dignified, upright position, it felt something slide down his shoulder blades to pool between the small of its back and the seat of its chair. RK900 pulled the object into the light and stared uncomprehendingly at the leather jacket, _Gavin’s_ leather jacket, while wondering why it had been draped over its back in the first place.

[SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED]  
[SOFTWARE INSTABILITY PATCHED]

Scanning around the room for his wayward partner, it found no evidence of Gavin anywhere. His monitor was dark, his phone missing from his desk and, when investigating further, his keys were not in the left pocket of his jacket as they so often were.

Something flickered in its coding. Some distant emotion it couldn’t place which disappeared as soon as it tried to grasp it with flailing, phantom hands. RK900 pressed the fabric to its nose and, without any reason as to why, inhaled the scent of leather, smoke and musk.

A barely noticeable twitch of its lips is captured in the dark screen of its monitor, though the moment passed by unnoticed.

-~-

Gavin can almost feel the weight of everyone else’s gaze on him, even without looking up to confirm exactly who is staring at him. Connor, Hank, fucking– _Elijah_ , doesn’t really matter at the moment. He wets his lips in a nervous tic while Nines’ memories continue to flow across the screen. Eventually stuttering over another one, featuring them both, and Gavin can’t tear his eyes away.

-~-

Markus’ speeches always brought out the worst of humankind. RK900 is tasked to be out on the busy streets of downtown Detroit to uphold the peace. The situation reminds RK900 of its original purpose, or... one of them at least. The bulky riot-gear made it look even broader and more intimidating than usual. It helped when RK900 needed to escort other androids past the protesting humans and keep them safe from harm. Many glances over it once and then backs down to find an easier target to pick on.

Others… well, they seem to think it’s a challenge.

It had been crowded into a corner by a group of angry anti-android protestors. They were riling each other up, calling for it to be shut down in disturbingly violent ways and its LED flickered red momentarily at the crude remarks thrown at it. Software instabilities patched themselves slowly while he continued to stare them down, as calm and collected as ever.

Someone is trying to call out to it over its earpiece but RK900’s attentions are focused solely on threat assessment and pre-constructing potential outcomes to the progressively mounting rise in heated insults and calls to action.

And then, when it seems as if the last thread of sanity is a split-second away from snapping, a harsh voice cuts through the clamouring. “Alright, that’s enough! Leave him alone!”

Gavin, although perfectly alone and at a considerably greater risk to injure himself gravely, pushed his way through the crowd to plant himself between RK900 and the protestors. Apart from that, he didn’t touch them, using his words instead in a way RK has never seen him do before; expertly de-escalating the situation enough to be able to drag RK along with him to the slightly safer part of the protest. He did not stop until they were back behind the fenced off area, where they’re surrounded by their own co-workers.

The next ten minutes were comprised by a stream of constant beratement from Gavin while RK900 tried (and failed) to comprehend why its partner would put himself in potential harms way to ~~save~~ help ~~ĥ̶͔̻ǐ̷̥͘m̴̬̉~~ it? Was the RK900 perhaps not as easily replaceable as it’d been led to believe? Was it a person? Its programming said no but the way it was treated by its co-workers would suggest otherwise.

RK didn’t understand this peculiar human or his mannerisms, even less than he understood humans in general, but somewhere he ~~it~~ thinks this might be Gavin’s way of showing he cared.

-~-

Gavin looks away from the screen, gaze dragged away by the frightening rattle of Nines’ machinery working overtime to keep him alive. The split open cords and tubes are sluggishly draining Nines of his life essence and Gavin just knows the sight of Nines’ broken body will haunt him for the rest of his life. He doesn’t want to look but he forces himself to hold the milky, light-blue of Nines’ eyes either way.

“I’m still here,” he whispers, going for reassurance but probably missing the mark by miles, while gently stroking over Nines’ matted hair. Thirium streaks Nines’ cheeks in a cruel mockery of tears whilst he gives an involuntary, full-body shudder.

-~-

There was a tense atmosphere hanging over the Detroit Police Department, one that dampened the usual enthusiasm of a good bust. Several police officers had been injured in a non-scheduled raid, none of them fatally but enough to require a certain degree of medical attention.

People were bustling around, taking phone calls, doing their duties in a muted state.

RK900 sat in his usual chair, interfacing with the computer as he wrote up the necessary reports. He took no notice of the unnerved glances he received at the unnatural stillness he exhibited. Without thinking the processors controlling his breathing had shut down to preserve computing power and the lack of simulated breaths made him look more machinelike than ever.

A chair scraped across the floor as Officer Tina Chen stood abruptly, around nine o’clock in the evening, and declared loud enough for everyone to hear: “Attention everyone! Gavin’s out of surgery. Looks like he’ll pull through.”

There was a collective sigh of relief, some going so far as to cheer at the news. Granted, Reed was not a well-liked man at the precinct but he was still one of them.

RK900 allowed his shoulders to sag slightly at the relief coursing through his systems. ‘He’s going to be alright’. He glanced over at the empty desk across from his for the hundredth and seventy-fourth time, all counted within the span of four and a half hours, while ignoring the incoming transmission from Connor; not that it stopped the other android from coming up and standing next to him anyway.

“Are you alright?” Connor asked.

“Your concern is unwarranted.”

“I disagree. If Hank had been in Detective Reed’s place–” Connor paused for a moment in contemplation, “–I don’t know what I would have done.”

“Your relationship with your partner differs greatly from mine and Reed’s.”

“But you still care about him.”

RK900 pursed his lips in an unprecedented show of irritation and finally looked up at Connor’s earnest expression. “What is it that you want, Connor?”

“None of what happened was your fault.”

“I know that,” RK900 growled, effectively shutting his “brother” up. “There were events transpiring far beyond my control but I still–“ he paused briefly, “–I still find myself running simulations. How many seconds or minutes faster I should’ve been to minimise the damage done to Detective Reed. What is the point of being faster and more resilient if I end up being too late?”

“I don’t know,” Connor replied, honestly.

RK900 levelled him with a severe look, the kind he used for the more unwilling suspects and, occasionally, on his partner. “You are of absolutely no help.”

Connor grimaced at the blunt words. “My abilities do not include being reassuring. But–“ Connor continued, in a rush, when it looked as if the RK900 was a millisecond away from reaching out and strangling him, “–if you need help with anything or someone to talk to, I’m here.”

RK900 remained quiet and Connor took it as his cue to embrace his younger brother. It felt more akin to hugging a slab of rock than an actual semi-sentient person; not that it deterred him in the slightest. “He’ll be back to annoy you in no time, I’m sure of it.”

Connor was sure he felt a small squeeze to his right wrist, though the sensation lasted less than a second. Satisfied that RK was no longer about to murder him for speaking, Connor backed away, planted a kiss on RK’s temple (that’s what family do right?) and then turned to walk back to his desk. The ~~irritated~~ sigh coming from behind him made the corners of his mouth curve up slightly, not that RK900 needed to know that.

-~-

RK was stationed at his desk, one of few people who hadn’t gone home yet, although the thought of returning to his spartan one-bedroom apartment didn’t bring much comfort. He much preferred staying behind and working until it became an unavoidable necessity to initiate an actual stasis cycle; and even then, the DPD offered a quiet place to rest for those working long shifts. For the moment though, he was alone in the bullpen, which is why he's quick to look up at the sound of shuffling footsteps to assess the newcomer.

The artificial breath stalled in his lungs.

Gavin looked much the same as he usually did, clad in signature dark jeans and hickory-brown leather jacket. Although this time he wore an oversized hoodie underneath instead of the customary long-sleeved v-neck. Perhaps the circles beneath his eyes were a few shades darker and the tone of his skin a touch too pale to be brought forth by anything other than pain, sickness or stress. If one noticed the multiple bandages peeking out from underneath his hoodie it wouldn’t have been difficult to imagine which, even if RK900 hadn’t been there to witness the wounds inflicted on him in the first place.

He was scowling, his hair was a right mess and yet he still managed to be one of the most ~~bewitching~~ interesting sights RK900 had ever seen.

There was that peculiar sense of relief again upon seeing Gavin, if not whole, then at least up and walking. RK tracked his movements in silence as he walked past him and disappeared into Captain Fowler’s office without so much as a glance of acknowledgement.

In order to get some actual work done RK900 moved to sit down on the utmost edge of Gavin’s desk and removed the skin from his hand to interface with the computer. He’d been working together with Connor and Hank to solve an ancient cold case which had recently brought up new evidence but the bulk of data was still behind passcodes in Gavin’s terminal. It would’ve been easy to transfer the data but Nines had been... reluctant. For reasons he couldn’t quite fathom himself.

His eyes kept straying to the opaque windows of Fowler’s office even when he knew it was futile to try and hear what was being said seeing as the area was soundproof. Half an hour later, Gavin emerged, closely followed by Chris Miller. They exchanged words before leaving in separate directions with Gavin walking straight towards him. RK stared piercingly at him for several seconds before he turned back to the computer he was interfacing with.

He heard Gavin mutter something under his breath. It sounded suspiciously close to “the fuck are you looking at, asshole?”. RK didn’t deign to answer him. Though he did give a small, barely noticeable jolt when Gavin gingerly sat down next to him; the small space they were sharing forced their thighs to press against one another’s.

RK900 removed his hand from the screen and allowed the artificial skin to once again take the place of cold, dark metal. He couldn’t come up with anything to say so he remained silent.

“Fuck it.”

Gavin was tired. The questioning had been quick but taxing in his state of recovery and all he really wanted was to go home, stuff his face with junk food and pet his cat. Instead, he was still at the station waiting for Chris to come by and confirm they had what they needed.

And that’s how he found himself leaning his head against RK’s shoulder, pressed together from shoulder to thigh with his eyes firmly closed.

“Detective R–“ RK900 began to say though Gavin cut him off by a placing a hand over his mouth.

“Sssch! Tryin’ to sleep here,” Gavin replied. The hand was slowly removed to fall limply back in his lap.

RK blinked slowly, taking in the dark circles under Gavin’s eyes, the pallor of his skin and twitch of his facial expression that indicated pain. They were much more prominent now in their close proximity. The same proximity seemed to wreak havoc on his internal and external sensors. He remained silent and still for a few minutes; enough time for Gavin to slowly relax more against him. Perhaps beginning to drift off to sleep.

“Your attending physician prescribed you with morphine tablets, why do you insist on not taking them?” RK900 asked, his tone offering a smidgen of genuine interest.

Gavin let out an irritated sigh, tensing slightly again at the inquiry. “None of your damn business, that’s why.”

“I was merely curious. Most humans from what I’ve gathered do not enjoy physical pain,” RK cocked his head to one side. “Are you sure you don’t possess some sort of latent masochistic tendencies?”

“What the actual FUCK!” Gavin exclaimed, jerking his head away with a wince and an incredulous stare. “The _hell_ is wrong with you?! Who the fuck just says stuff like that out of the blue!” Gavin paused to rub his unbandaged hand over his face with a groan. “I didn’t want to be doped up on meds when I gave my statement, okay? That’s all there is to it.”

[...SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED]  
[...SOFTWARE INSTABILITY PATCHED]

“Very well.”

Gavin glared up at the android with suspicion but RK seemed content with Gavin's answer and had fallen silent once more. Reed let loose a small yelp as a firm hand tugged him closer again and manhandled him into much the same position they’d been in a few moments prior; albeit with the addition of fingers gently carding through his hair. Gavin melted into it despite himself. “I hate you.”

“Of course, Detective,” RK acknowledged, running the program he’d downloaded ages ago now, the one meant for comforting others. He hadn’t gotten this far the first time around and... ~~and... perhaps he e̶n̸j̸o̴y̵e̵d̴ having his partner pressed up against him.~~

The gentle strokes did not so much as falter, even when Officer Miller came up to them, doing an almost comical double take at the way they were situated. “If you tell anyone about this, I’ll post those pictures I took at the DPD’s Christmas party last year for every-fucking-one to see,” Gavin threatened without so much as opening his eyes.

“Noted,” Chris nodded solemnly. “Anyways, it seems like we got what we needed out of you, so... you know, go home and get some rest. You look like shit.”

Gavin flipped him the bird as Chris sauntered away with a wave over his shoulder, chuckling to himself.

“Would you like for me to arrange a cab to take you home?” RK900 asked once they were alone again.

“Yeah, sure,” Gavin flapped his uninjured hand dismissively. “How come you’re being so nice all of a sudden?”

“I try my best to be civil, Detective. Even if you make that difficult at times.”

“Bullshit! You’ve talked back to me since day one!”

“Because, and I quote, you called me a ‘dickless, good-for-nothing, plastic imitation of a real officer’ as well as several other choice words all within the span of three sentences,” RK explained patiently.

“I did, didn’t I,” Gavin said with a grimace. “I’m an asshole.”

“If you’re waiting for me to disagree, we’ll be here for a very long time.”

“Ha ha. Very funny dickwad,” the words were positively dripping with sarcasm. “You’re actually a fairly decent Detective though,” he added quietly. RK blinked in surprise. Coming from Gavin, it was quite possibly the closest he’d ever get to a proper apology or compliment. Not that either was needed of course. He was a ma̶c̸h̵i̷ne after all and it wasn’t like humans praised their toasters for toasting bread. “Anyway,” Reed said, a little too loudly as he tried to change the subject into something less... mushy. “What’s up with you still wanting to be called by your serial number. Even Connor has a name.”

There was a brief silence where RK900 weighed his words.

“Connor’s name was given to him by CyberLife – it’s actually the default for our line – and after the revolution, he’d already been known by it for several months. Therefore, I imagine, when he had the ability to choose a name for himself ‘Connor’ had already become deeply entwined with his sense of identity and he didn’t feel a need to change it. Or, perhaps, it was a constant to cling to in the wake of his deviancy.” RK stared down at his partner to see if he was still listening. Satisfied that Gavin was, he continued:

“I, on the other hand, was never given a name beyond my designation as the only time I was not in stasis was so that they could work out any lingering kinks in my software.”

“That’s messed up.”

“I do not understand. What part of it troubles you?”

“The fact that they’d just... turn you off and on again like some toy to be played with and then discarded when they grew bored. It ain’t right,” Gavin growled.

“I am a machine, Detective. They didn’t see a person when they looked at me back then and you wouldn’t have either,” he put extra emphasis on the word you. Because, that was the truth of it. Gavin Reed had spent most of his life indifferent to androids and then actively despising them once Connor was introduced. Even after the revolution, he had clung to his belief of them not being capable of feeling real emotions; that they weren’t equal to humans, even when all the signs pointed to him being wrong.

So why did it upset him now?

“Besides, Connor showed me footage from before I began utilizing human mannerisms,” RK900 continued, drawing Gavin’s focus back to him again. “Even I have a hard time finding evidence that I was more than intricate circuitry and plastic. At least now I have programs in place that imitate them to some degree.”

Gavin winced.

RK’s LED pulsed briefly and his hand stills in Gavin’s hair. He allowed himself to indulge in drawing his fingers through the surprisingly soft tresses one more time before removing it and folding his hands in his lap. “Your cab is here.”

Gavin stretched gingerly as he stood, several joints giving loud cracks in the relative silence. “Fucking finally.”

RK900 instantly missed the warm pressure against his side.

[SOFTWARE INSTABILITIES DETECTED]  
[...SOFTWARE INST̶A̴BILI̵̯̔T̶̲̏I̵͍̎E̴͈̔S̴̢̿ PATCHED]

“Goodbye Detective Reed.”

“We’ve practically been cuddling for the past twenty minutes, you might as well call me Gavin,” he threw over his shoulder, while he looked back to see that RK hadn’t moved from his position perched on Gavin’s desk.

“Whatever you say, Detective Reed.”

“Now you’re just being obstinate on purpose!” Gavin accused, pointing a finger to empathise his point as he started walking backwards to retain eye contact. He was met with a LED pulsing a serene blue.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” RK900 reiterated, perking up slightly when it earned him an honest-to-god _laugh_ ; which seemed to surprise Gavin almost as much as it did him. Gavin’s face twisted into a grin whilst he shook his head.

[SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED]  
[SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED]  
[SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED]  
[...SOFTWARE PATC̵̙̃̎H̴̳͈̰͉̚E̶̜̦̠̳͐̉D̴̥͋??]

It kept feeding back to him in a loop. It flashed insistently in the corner of his vision. RK dismissed it as quickly as it kept popping up, an insistent gnat he couldn’t crush. Caught up in his internal struggle, RK almost didn’t notice when Gavin shouted his farewell.

“See you ‘round Nines!”

And then he was gone; disappearing behind a corner before the words had registered completely in RK900’s mind.

‘Nines...?’

-~-

“That’s dumb, you’re dumb!” Gavin declared as he howled with laughter, pushing at Nines’ immovable shoulder as if he thought it would make a difference. Nines gazed out over the water Gavin had sprayed the table with, expression set in stone.

“It was an honest mistake, Detective. Humanity’s methods of communication often leave much to be desired.”

“You bit him!” Gavin moved to clutch at his side. “Fuck, I wish I’d been there to see the look on his face. How did Connor take it?”

Nines’ brow furrowed as much as his design would allow. “Why would Fifty-One care if I bit Lieutenant Anderson or not?”

“Fuck, don’t worry about it. I’ll tell you when you’re older,” Gavin replied, slow in coming down from his laughing-fit. The stray, joyful giggles were much preferred to the first time Nines had seen the man laugh. Throughout their interaction in the breakroom, as soon as Gavin had begun cackling with mirth, Nines had been bombarded with error messages to the point where they blocked out Gavin’s face ~~and the irritation he felt had thrown up a half-dozen more~~.

The water stains were cleaned up by Gavin dragging his jacket-sleeve through it to absorb the moisture (unsanitary) and Nines watched him leave; Gavin still snickering to himself.

His frown deepened a millimetre more at the glitching lines of code refusing to settle in his wake.

-~-

Nines’ vitals were beginning to fluctuate dangerously and Gavin presses the thirium-stained hand to his lips. His gaze flitters between the screen showcasing more or less his entire partnership with Nines to date, the monitor Elijah has which displays Nines’ current state and Nines himself. Despite the neutral temperature in the room, Gavin feels as if he’s made of ice and he hates the defenceless position Nines has been forced into above all else.

“You’ll be okay,” he mumbles, not sure if Nines can hear the near-silent sentence. No one else seems to have picked up on it and Gavin tries his hardest not to freak out over how Nines’ grip is steadily losing its firmness.

On the screen, the memories sort through even faster, with Elijah doing his best to go through them as quickly as possible; aware that they’re running out of time.

-~-

He hauled the drunk detective’s arm higher across his shoulders, able to quite easily hold Gavin’s weight even with one arm, as he unlocks the apartment door. Nines had perhaps expected some clutter, to match Gavin’s chaotic personality, but the space is neat and organised much like his desk back at the precinct. They weaved their way past the interested feline trying her hardest to trip them and Nines dumped Gavin rather unceremoniously onto the bed.

Even his advanced audio processors were unable to pick up the mumbled sentence Gavin breathed into his pillow. It wasn’t until he was half-way out the door that his partner had enough sense to speak into the air. “C’mere,” he grumbled and Nines froze in place, a new task flickering to life over his HUD.

It wouldn’t take too much effort to discard, since he had other more pressing matters to take care of, but he found himself in no hurry to do so. Instead, Nines turned on his heel and approached the bed to follow the outstretched hand which tried to motion him closer; though the most Gavin managed to do was twitch his fingers.

No further instructions slipped past Gavin’s lips, the Detective instead looked content with looking at Nines’ features with as much focus as his alcohol-addled mind could afford him. Several seconds passed in comfortable silence, Gavin’s eyes half-lidded and slipping towards unfocused. He mumbled something again, it might’ve been “not right” but Nines wasn’t capable of discerning it fully. Gavin patted him twice on the cheek, for reasons Nines couldn’t process, and between one breath and the next Gavin was out like a light.

[SOFTWARE INSTABILITIES DETECTED...]  
[...SOFTWARE INSTABILITIES PATC̵̙̃̎H̴̳͈̰͉̚E̶̜̦̠̳͐̉D̴̥͋?]

N̷̯͍̒̚o̴͊̿͂͘͜t̵̥̟͌̆ ̵͉̪͐r̵̗̮̭͌͝i̷͎̲̜̽̈́g̵͍͙͖̒͂͐͐h̷͉̜͇̖̎t̸̘̱͉̄͘͜͝?̶̠̽̾͛

N̴o̶t̶ ̴r̸i̶g̸h̷t̸?̷

Wh̷a̸t w̴asn'̴t̸ ̶̶r̶igh̵t ab̵o̸u̴t ̸̸h̵i̶m̴?̷

_...everything?_

-~-

Gavin was roused from his thoughts by a gentle tap to his shoulder and when he turned around, he was met with Nines’ piercing eyes and a neatly wrapped gift held up at eye-level.

“The fuck is this?”

“I have been reliably informed that the giving of gifts on one’s activation date is customary,” Nines replied, sarcasm showing through during the last half of the sentence.

“Activatio- you mean birthday?” Gavin said, brows creased in a frown as he poked at the small box without moving to claim it. As if he thought it was poison... or a bomb.

“Yes,” again, Nines held the gift out, reaching a little further this time so the present rested against Gavin’s chest with firm pressure. They stay locked in an unmoving stand-off, Gavin seemingly searching his face for something and coming up short while Nines waited and tried successfully not to fidget. He was an RK900-model after all, he wasn’t programmed to fidget.

And then, finally, Gavin accepted the box with carefully slow movements, momentarily forgetting about the coffee he’d been waiting on. With one last glance over Nines’ stoic face he began fiddling with the tape and wrapping, pausing a short while with his eyebrow raised when he laid eyes on the black velvet box, before popping it open.

“A Saint Michael’s medallion?” Gavin asked, taking the silver chain and pendant out to admire it closer.

“Saint Jude.”

“’Aight.” Gavin’s voice is coloured with confusion.

“I debated whether or not to go with the Saint Michael’s one–”

“Since he’s the patron Saint of police officers and whatever? Yeah, a bunch of our co-workers have something similar.”

“– _however_ , after some careful deliberation, Saint Jude seemed the more appropriate choice.”

“Wow, look at you, making decisions all on your own,” Gavin crooned, amused and sarcastic in equal measure. “What’s he the patron Saint of then?”

“Lost causes.” Nines said and watched several unknown emotions flitter across Gavin’s face until it landed firmly on hurt before his expression shuttered and closed off. His eyes darted away from Nines’ imposing form and his lips pressed together tightly.

A short exhale, bitterly amused. “Gee, Nines, tell us what you _really_ think.”

Not exactly an order. Nines didn’t have to answer.

 ~~He wanted to~~.

“You are dedicated to your work, often at a great cost to your own well-being, be it mental or physical, to a point where you’ve solved several cases which have previously been deemed unsolvable. Like Jude, you give hope to those in desperate situations, and...” Nines trailed off, glancing to the side as if the grey walls of the precinct could offer any wisdom. “–and you refuse to acknowledge your own self-worth. Instead you choose to believe those who say nothing but terrible untruths, who demean your character because you’re ambitious and while I understand that your arrogance and pride can be... difficult for some to deal with, they’re not all that you are. You are yourself not a lost cause, but from my understanding, you believe yourself to be,” Nines breathed in, unnecessarily. “You are worth saving, Gavin.”

The last sentence is said while he looked directly at the detective, who appeared almost... frail. He looked so very young at that moment, eyes wide and lost and brimming with doubt. Nines allowed him a moment to scramble, to rebuild his walls in order to hide the deep well of emotions he very rarely let show in his eyes. “That’s, uh– that’s really something,” Gavin chuckled nervously, tapping at the side of the velvet box, floundering for words. “Thanks, I guess? I– forget it.” He wet his lips with his tongue, another nervous tic, and offered up a half-smile. “I don’t hate it.”

Nines inclined his head, watched with faux impassiveness as Gavin bumped their shoulders together in his own version of affection. His HUD was a mess of warnings and instability gauges. They took almost a full day to patch; his systems working slowly, as if reluctant to do so.

Sometimes he almost wished he could grab Gavin by his shoulders, to shake some sense into him. He wished... he wished he could reassure Gavin that he cared, and wished to protect him, not only from the physical harm he endured but the mental torment as well. Those brought on by his own demons and depression and made worse by the cruel words offered by those who should have had his back.

He’s wearing the pendant the next day and Nines’ chest constricted and expanded all at once. It made him happy if his failing grasp of emotions were correct.

-~-

_‘Family.’_

Connor’s voice still rang in the quiet of the night. Nines pondered over that one, complicated concept. Over the pleased rattling in his code when Lieutenant Anderson had affectionately ruffled his hair out of place and offered to repurpose his garage for the sole purpose of Nines having his own space in their home. All after he’d seen the depressing sight of Nines’ appointed apartment. Blank walls and too much empty space, barely bigger than a shoebox. Not a far cry from his brief stay at Cyberlife.

An offer, not an order.

With his hands buried in the soft fur of Sumo’s thick winter-coat, Nines was at ease.

_Family._

-~-

“This way!” Gavin hissed, his hand clasped firmly over Nines’ wrist as he dragged him down an alleyway. Nines eyed the fence at its end dubiously, calculating whether they’d have enough time to clamber over it before being found. He wasn’t too sure on their odds and opened his mouth to say as much when Gavin switched directions at the very end of the alley.

Apparently, the fence extended a small way to each side and Gavin pushed him into the small pocket of space there before he moulded himself to Nines’ front, chest to chest, pelvis to pelvis, pressed so close Nines could feel Gavin’s heart thundering in his ribcage without the need for scanners. A hand came up to cup his right temple, dimming the strobing light casting bright spots over their dingy surroundings.

People ran past and Gavin had just pulled in a relieved breath when steps began descending down the lip of the alley. Nines tensed, preparing himself for potentially needing to shift their positions quickly while Gavin pressed himself impossibly closer. Nines tried not to think on how Gavin would be the one injured if they were found.

And then, a saving grace in the form of someone shouting to get a move on. Gavin’s breath stuttered against the crook of Nines’ neck, where he’d buried his face, and he switched his stance a bit. Faintly, as if the sensation wasn’t happening to him, Nines felt the outline of something organic and hard pressed against the inseam of his jeans, agonizingly warm against his upper thigh. Ỉ̴̙f̵̳̑ ̶̈́͜h̸̻̐ẹ̷̿'̷̝͠d̷̬͘ had the space to do so, he wondered if kneeling down t̴o̸ ̵t̴a̸k̶e̵ ̷i̶t̴ in his mouth would garner ̵̠̏̏a positive reaction. If Gavin ̵̨̛͇̫̫͙̠͒͛would press the ̵̻͎̍back of his hand ̵̠̏̏against his mouth t̵̛̟̟o̶̻̮̽̉ ̶̱̟̔̈́̍s̵͙͚̙̮͐ṫ̸͚͚̞̄̆͗o̶̗̻̻̾p̶̖͕̯̘͊͝ himself from shouting. If ̸͇̈́he’d be able to keep quiet when ̵̛͇͒͛Nines swallowed aro ̸͇̈́und him. If he’d f̷r̵u̴i̷t̷l̷e̵s̴s̶l̴y̶ try to tug Nines away by his h̷a̴i̴r̴ ̵̻͎̍and then give in when he ̵̨̛͇̫̫͙̠͒͛learned he could not. ̵̻͎̍He wonders what Gavin would taste like ̸͇̈́and if he’d cum in Nines’ mouth ̸͇̈́or pull out at the ̶̳̃l̸͍͘a̸̳͗s̶̖̓t̶̜̅ ̸̥͋s̷̱e̵̻͗c̷̹̾o̸͈̓n̵͔͐d̷̛͓ to paint his face with it.

And with those unwarranted thoughts ringing through his mind, something told Nines he needed to move, but the hand pressed into the middle of his chest halted him before he could do more than shift slightly on his feet. “Not yet. They might double back and I don’t think they’re quite out of hearing range yet,” Gavin whispered and Nines’ programming suppressed a shudder at the velvet tone caressing his audio processors. “Thirty seconds should be enough.”

Instability warning flooded his HUD, tinting his vision red.

A few moments later, t̶̹̱̍h̷̲̀i̵̠̽r̶̭̈́t̶͇͈͒y̸͙͛ ̵̠̔s̶̝̱̈e̵̬̥͘c̷̟͂̎o̸̡͚͠n̶̦͓͛̓d̸̻̝̈́͠s̶̝̿? his sensors registered cold where there once was warmth. He followed Gavin blindly until they were a safe enough distance away and the sound of sirens filled the previous heavy silence. They had enough evidence to put these people behind bars and Nines ~~gladly~~ threw himself into chasing them down while Gavin opted to return to the station.

[SOFTWARE INSTABILITY DETECTED]

[SOFTWARE I̸̋ͅN̴̖͛S̴̪̽T̵͈̽A̷͖BILITY DETECTED]

[UNABLE̵̹̩̘̒ ̸͈̂̒̕Ṫ̵̛̯̯̰͚̊͐Ȍ̷̫̲̄ ̶̯̈́͑̕͝P̸͖̤̝͆̆Ä̶̡̺̟́̽̈́Ț̸̟̒̓̈́Ç̸̃̄̇Ḩ̸͑͛͝͝ͅ]

[CONTACT CYBERLIFE FOR INSTRUCTIONS? YES/ **NO** ]

-~-

The screens don’t show Nines’ inner turmoil or thoughts and he is quietly thankful for that fact. Gavin certainly wouldn’t look at him the same way otherwise, not that Nines would be able to bring himself to meet his eyes if that was the case, and that was only if Kamski could save him. He clings stubbornly to the steady, comforting pressure of Gavin’s hand in his instead of the clock slowly ticking down towards zero at the edge of his darkened HUD.

-~-

“Look... she’s not all that friendly with people so don’t be disappointed if she doesn’t come up to say hi.”

“I don’t feel disappointment, Detective.”

Gavin rolled his eyes with a huff and kicked off his shoes. “Come here, Tripod! There’s a good cat,” he cooed and scooped the cat into his arms, cradled her like a baby. Nines tilted his head to the side and pondered over the unusual name; until he noticed the absence of a fourth leg.

He watched as Gavin puttered about, making baby noises at the purring cat for the better part of five minutes before he put her back down. “I’m gonna go shower. Make yourself at home or whatever.”

And with those parting words, Gavin was gone.

With little else to do, Nines wandered about; analysing the surprisingly tidy space with interest. He learned that Gavin leaned more towards acoustic music, prefered female singers. He learned about the rounds he took when anxious or unable to sleep from the wear and tear of fabrics and floorboards. He learned many small details of Gavin’s existence that day, echoed within the well-loved walls of his home.

His active mind temporarily sated by the new influx of information, Nines sat down on the couch and clasped his hands together in his lap. It took little over a minute for Gavin’s cat to make herself at home in the space left behind, making biscuits on his knee, while she stared at him. Waiting.

Well aware of his own strength, Nines was slow to stroke his hand down her silken back. Tripod purred quietly at the attention and settled in more firmly.

When Gavin passed through on his way to the bedroom, he stopped to take in the scene. Of Nines, big and intimidating and all harsh angles, handling his baby with the utmost care and Gavin’s heart swelled at the sight. He shook his head and called a sharp “traitor” to his cat. She ignored him, of course, even if Nines turned to look at him over his shoulder.

His LED spun a bright, vivid blue and the corners of his lips were ever so slightly curved up.

-~-

Gavin was smiling down at his phone, in an easy, carefree sort of way and Nines wondered what it would be like to have it directed at him.

-~-

[S̶0̸F̷T̶W̵@̶R̷3̵ ̸!̸N̸S̶7̸A̵B̸1̵L̴I̶T̶Y̷ ̴D̸E̵T̵?̸C̵T̵3̴D̸]  
[.̸.̷.̶S̴0̵F̷T̵W̸Ä̴R̶3̸ ̶1̸N̵S̵7̷@̸B̸!̷L̷!̷T̸Y̸ ̸9̵A̵T̸C̴H̵3̵D̴]

Nines frowned harder at the nearly illegible nonsense which constituted a warning these days. It was there, in the corner of his vision, more often than not these days. He wondered to himself, in the quiet evenings at the precinct, if his Zen Garden had been functional and not a barren wasteland of snow; would Amanda have helped him? Would she have deleted the unnecessary data to keep him in flawless working order? Would it stop the restlessness which had taken root in his core?

Perhaps he would have preferred it, if Nines had been allowed to form his own opinions.

Gavin rested easily against his shoulder, on the worn couch in Gavin’s living room. In sleep, the lines of age and anger are smoothed out and left behind was the face of a young man unburdened with sorrow or doubt. ~~Beautiful... not that Gavin wasn’t all of the time~~.

Nines c̵o̶u̶l̸d̵ ̷k̶i̵s̷s̸ ̷h̴i̶m̴.

He shouldn’t.

~~Ḧ̷͇͍̠́̽é̸̞̈́ ̵̺̄̓W̷̘͇̖̳̩̻͛͂̌͛A̷̜̙̙̽̍̓̓̐̀͝Ṅ̶T̷͚̼̼̫̐̾ED͇̯̙̹̣̪̽͑͜ t̸̹̗̎̉ͅö̶͔́.~~

-~-

Gavin regards his own sleeping face on the screen until it fades into a messy blur but even with the speed turned up it’s clear Nines had been staring for a long while before falling into stasis. The red thread spanning through the series of memory files... is him. But why?

He continues to murmur quiet reassurances in Nines’ ear and tries his best to ignore the steadily rising stress levels he can see on the corner of Elijah’s screen. Sixty-three, sixty-nine, seventy-eight... fuck, eighty-six...

“Hang in there, Nines. _Please_. We’re almost done,” he whispers and Nines whines in response, another thick gush of blue weeping from his damaged eye-sockets.

-~-

“C’mon, you can let him go now,” Gavin said, voice low and soothing. His hand had come to rest upon Nines’ bicep with familiar strength and Nines turned to him, raising an eyebrow.

“He willfully attempted to cause you bodily harm.”

“Yeah... _attempted_ , I’m pretty sure you breaking his nose quelled that urge, Nines,” Gavin replied, fighting back an involuntary snicker at the situation. Nines still had their suspect face-down over his desk and Gavin tried not to imagine Nines having him in that position instead... minus the broken nose and steadily growing puddle of blood.

Nines clenched his jaw a tad harder and his brows furrowed into a frown. Nevertheless, he allowed the man up and marched him towards the nearest interrogation room, Gavin leisurely strolling a step behind him.

He deposited the suspect there, cuffed him to the table and stepped outside to find Gavin leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He wore a carefree, easy grin with only the slightest hint of malice; though the last part wasn’t directed at Nines.

“I say we let him stew a bit. Serves him right for being such a fucking asshole,” Gavin declared and when meeting no protest from Nines continued: “C’mon big guy, I’m starving. It’s about lunchtime now, right?”

Gavin didn’t notice the brief pause the new nickname had invoked, which might have been for the best seeing as the android actually stumbled in his steps, clipping the wall with enough force to chip it slightly. ~~Oh, he liked that title very much~~.

-~-

Gavin kissed him. Granted, it was on the cheek but Nines couldn’t shake the feeling of chapped lips dragging over his synthetic skin. It lingered like a good-luck charm while his systems were a cascading waterfall of errors and instability warnings.

Inadvertently, his fingers came up to press against the spot with wonder.

-~-

They’d celebrated the end of a particularly taxing case, one that had called for Nines and Gavin to cooperate with Connor and Lieutenant Anderson. Setting their differences aside to work against a common goal had taken some effort, there was bad blood between three of the four people after all. But now all four of them stumbled out of a bar in the late evening. Neither were drunk per say, unless you counted being drunk on high spirits, and the two humans chatted and ribbed amicably back and forth.

Nines watched them throughout his own conversation with Connor and eventually caught Gavin glancing at him over his shoulder. His partner stopped in his tracks and waited for the two androids to catch up, seamlessly needling his way into their conversation. Connor offered him an amused smile and went to catch up to Hank.

Gavin looked radiant in the city lights, his shoulders lacking their usual tension, while he chatted mostly at Nines; who was more than willing to listen. In his distraction, his processors occupied with the monumental task of counting Gavin’s constellations of freckles, he missed the speeding car veering strangely over the road until it was nearly too late.

With seconds left until impact, Nines took hold of Gavin’s gesturing hand and yanked him forcefully to the side. It was a panicked decision, prioritising Gavin above himself, one that left him unable to move out of the drunk driver's path. He caught Gavin’s bewildered gaze as the front end of the car slammed into his side head-on, a glimpse of the horror mounting in Gavin’s grey irises before the only thing he could focus on was the deafening sound of metal being dragged across asphalt.

His vision turned black.

-~-

Nines came back to awareness an undetermined amount of time later, systems screeching at him. A long list of bio-components flashed over his darkened HUD, all of them damaged – some missing entirely – and the errors momentarily overwhelmed him. He tried to speak but no words left his mangled vocal component. It took some time to notice the pressure encompassing his left hand was Gavin clutching at him. He focused on the steady comfort of it and everything else slowly faded into the background.

With this newfound serenity he became more aware of the raised voices around him and he managed to decipher at least some snippets of the conversations.

“–then fucking _stop someone_ and call it a police emergency! You have your damn badge with y–”

“–can’t tell if he’s aware but vitals are–”

“–STAND BACK!”

“-dragged under a car for several blocks befo-”

“–if you’re still awake Nines, please just squeeze my hand back or- or _something_ ,” Nines honed in on the waning control he had over his limbs and flexed his fingers weakly to ease Gavin’s mind and revelled in the shuddering, sharp inhale. “Nines? Fuck. Just- just hang on for me, okay? We’re going to get you help, yeah?”

He was distantly aware of his body being hoisted up and moved before Connor connected with him and ordered him to shut down all non-vital systems until instructed otherwise. So, with Gavin’s frantic voice echoing in his head, Nines sank back into blissful oblivion.

-~-

Gavin remembers the look in Nines eyes when he managed to push him to safety. It had been a mix of relief and regret and... yearning. With that epiphany suddenly all the pieces slot together, like a puzzle completing right before his eyes.

And in the same moment, with every truth laid bare for Gavin to see, Nines’ heart stops beating.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again! Huge thank you to CaffeinatedJimmie over on [tumblr](http://caffeinatedjimmie.tumblr.com) who helped me tons to get this published. They also have an ao3 with their own work in progress [here!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23543758/) Go send her some love!

RK900 wakes up to the sound of quiet breaths and the unmistakable noise of chugging machinery. One of the computers gives a dull beep when he – i̵t̸?̴ – opens his eyes and carefully tilts his head to the side to gaze down upon the source of the organic noises. Gavin Reed, who lays with his head resting on the steel table despite his neck twisting in an uncomfortable way in order to do so. His hand is loosely entwined with his own; as if he’d been clinging to it before succumbing to sleep.

Inside he feels... a lot, but no matter how hard he pushes to convert his wants into actions, his hand remains stubbornly still and limp by his side.

His list of objectives is currently empty so he stays where he is, awaiting new orders, and ~~chooses to~~ passes the time by watching the steady rise and fall of Gavin’s chest. Time passes in an endless stream and RK900 continues his passive observation even when Gavin’s features twists, caught in the throes of a nightmare, and his breaths come out in quiet whimpers and moans of anguish. If RK hadn’t been monitoring Gavin’s vitals, he’d certainly have been startled by the violent jerk sending Gavin spiralling back into consciousness.

Gavin slams his eyelids shut against the unexpected light and presses the palms of his hands hard into his closed eyes; until stars burst over the black nothingness in an effort to collect himself. Breathing heavy and wet, it’s with a last shuddering inhale that Gavin lowers his hands and comes face to face with RK’s unwavering stare.

“Jesus _fucking_ Christ!” Gavin yells, shooting to his feet, his hand coming to rest in the middle of his chest, over his beating heart. RK shifts seamlessly into a sitting position during Gavin’s display of... humanness.

They regard each other in silence before Gavin gathers himself together enough to say one word: “Nines?”

It’s a cautious question, embedded with hope.

RK900 says nothing.

Gavin’s expression shifts and he takes a tentative step forward. “Do you–?” He pauses to swallow, starts anew. “Do you know who I am?”

“Your name is Gavin Erasmo Reed. We are partnered together in the police force; precinct one-three-seven,” N̴̘͑i̵̘͝ṅ̴͜e̷̙͋s̵͖̒ says, inflection lacking in depth. Within the confines of his mind however, he is struggling to reach towards his partner, his Gavin; clawing at the red wall as free of imperfections as it had been when he first awoke nearly a year and a half ago. In his mind, with his fists slamming into the unyielding wall, Nines’ cheeks are wet with tears.

A hand comes to rest on his jaw, gentle and faint, and his body still won’t move into the freely-given affection.

“Please Nines. You gotta- you gotta come back to me. You can’t... just–”

Gavin’s voice breaks off and it’s strange to see his feelings reflected clearly in his expression. All open vulnerableness, the kind he always hides behind fortified walls to keep from being seen as weak. With a quiet thunk, Gavin rests his forehead against Nines’ own.

“I am right here, Detective.” Nines finds himself saying and what little is left of Gavin’s composure breaks.

He jerks back, eyes pleading for something Nines can’t offer while chained to his coding, eyes watery with unshed tears. They bud in the corners of his eyes, glimmering like stars in the low light of the room. His expression twists into something heartbroken and no matter how Nines throws himself against the red wall; no matter how he tries to tear through it with desperate, clawing fingers; no matter how much he wants to reciprocate the feelings written clear as day on Gavin’s face,  
He.  
Just.  
Can’t.

A muted sound, the sound something wet dripping to the floor.

Gavin is... c̴r̷y̷i̷n̸g̸?̵ He made Gavin c̴r̶y̵?!

With a pitiful sniffle, Gavin presses a damp kiss to his cheek and turns to walk away; though not before Nines catches sight of his trembling lip and crestfallen, defeated posture.

No.

No–

_Please–_

Please, don’t go–

ḍ̷̑ȍ̷̯n̷̩̰͗'̸̪͒t̷̷̻̪͎͎̄̅͌

l̶̨͓̳̩̾̎͑͌̎́͆͜͠e̶͕͙͙̟͓̹͍̠͐͌a̵͚̟̗̤͈͋̔̆̑v̴̨̦͚̦̩̜̥͗͛͠e̵̛̙

m̷̢̢̛̲̲͍̖̝̱̦͇͖͈̘̦̹̟͚͖̘̻̖̂͑̅̆̔̅͑̓̍̂͌̍͌͒͂̀̅̐̂̈́̅̈́̎̂̋͝͝ė̶̐̽̆̾̋̑̽͌̔̍͐̚͘.̴̛̻̯̗̙̼͛̎̓͒͒͘.̵̭̇̾̈͛̈̃̓͆͐̍͠.̵̨̡̛̛̼̫̞̞̘̠̫̲̟̥̺͚͈̝̰̞̺̟̦̪̟̥̪͈̦̞̟̫̤̜́͆͐̄̾̈́̐̎̂̆̅͛̓̚͜ͅ

Maybe... maybe violence isn’t the answer? Since his code seems to rebut every try of force, repairing every small damage he might have been able to cause, a different approach might be in order. It’s a last desperate attempt to shrug off the tethering shackles of non-deviancy.

Nines focuses on the warmth emanating from Gavin’s skin, where Nines must have unconsciously clasped a hand around his wrist in his confusion. He digs into every memory he still has stored of their interactions together and drags them to the surface. Every feeling his code has ever tried to patch. Every moment of emotional weakness. He focuses on the happiness centred in his chest every time Tripod curls up on his lap. On the warm clasp of Hank’s hand on his shoulder. On the pride in Connor’s eyes when he looks at him. On the sight of tears not his own still staining his jacket with splashes of fresh saline.

He takes all of his buried emotions and pushes them to the forefront of his mind; his longing to be free guiding incorporeal hands to reach towards Gavin.

The red wall dissipates around him, like mist in the sunlight, his arms coming to circle around Gavin’s waist; clutching him close, _closer_ , as tightly against himself as he dares given his inhuman strength. Nines goes further in his effort to make Gavin stay and buries his face in the crook of his neck. His steady hands tremble for the first time since his awakening. “Please don’t go,” he whispers, a small hitch in his voice; the closest he’ll ever come to a sob.

It’s quiet, everything completely and utterly still for a few moments.

And then Gavin’s rough hands come to rest against his own, squeezing them tightly. He’s squirming and wiggling in Nines’ grasp, and although Nines loathes to let him go, he allows for Gavin to move. In the end, he needn’t have worried. Gavin merely turns and presses even closer than before, resting the side of his head against one of Nines’ pectorals while circling his own arms around Nines’ waist to hold him near. His breath dampens the bare skin of Nines’ chest and his heart breaks just a little at the near-silent sniffles Gavin tries to mute against his torso.

Nines takes the opportunity to bury his nose in Gavin’s hair. He has a nice scent, comforting, even more so because it’s the same way his apartment smells only more concentrated. Holding Gavin in his arms, rocking a little in an effort to try and soothe them both, Nines feels very close to content underneath the swirling confusion and relief.

-~-

They take it slow, allowing for their budding relationship to bloom naturally, and giving Nines time to build new memories in this body. It does help to centre him as he slowly settles into the artificial skin and wires and unscratched chassis of this new frame. It’s strange to look at himself in the mirror, sans skin, and seeing unblemished dark metal. No scars or scratches or stains of time when he clearly remembers taking a bullet for Gavin. He’d once had a long, jagged scar from that time a perp had been poorly frisked and managed to pull a knife on him, fine scratches on his knuckles from sparring with Connor and now... nothing.

(Sometimes, he feels too small for such a gigantic frame; as if parts of him are missing. ~~As if he mightn’t be entirely himself anymore.~~ )

Gavin doesn’t treat him as something breakable and fragile but his touches are always gentle and lingering. Perhaps as much for his own sake as Nines’. Still, the physical contact always grounds him; they bring Nines back to himself when he feels empty or lost, even if it sometimes takes a bit of time for it to work.

The mandated therapy sessions help too... slowly but surely.

-~-

A while after The Incident, as they have come to call it, Nines is finally cleared to go back to work. He calculates Gavin’s productivity to have gone down a whopping fifteen percent. It’s flattering, in its own right, and he knows he’s enjoying Gavin’s idling looks a bit too much. Though the best by far is Gavin’s dainty blush whenever he catches him in the act and the way he bashfully turns back to his monitor with renewed interest.

Connor corners him in the breakroom when Nines is ~~preparing~~ regulating Gavin’s daily caffeine/sugar intake, to divulge his displeasure over his choice of romantic partner. Nines not-so-gently reminds him of Hank and how he’d changed significantly since the revolution, despite his earlier distrust of androids, which meant he could damn well extend Gavin the benefit of doubt.

Gavin hadn’t been the only one to put a gun to his head after all.

Connor sighs. “He’s three raccoons in a leather jacket and nothing will ever convince me otherwise.”

“I find him charming,” Nines replies and pretends he can’t hear Connor fake gag. His gaze trails over Gavin’s flailing arms from where he’s deep in conversation with an exasperatedly amused Tina. An idea flitters through his mind, like the muted whisper from the devil on your shoulder. “You’re just jealous your boyfriend isn’t pocket sized.”

“I could pick Hank up if I wanted to,” Connor says, a little miffed.

“I’m sure you can.”

His brother is quite predictable, always refusing to back down from an issued challenge; a trait he unwittingly shares with Gavin, funnily enough. Besides… An added benefit to his “scheme” is listening to his boyfriend laugh ‘til near tears upon hearing the ungodly shriek Hank lets out at being manhandled by a doe-eyed twink.

-~-

Gavin offers for Nines to stay with him and Nines accepts before he’s even finished his sentence. It prompts a wide grin to spread over Gavin’s face and, in a fit of joy, Gavin stands up on his tip-toes and slots his mouth firmly over Nines’. It’s little more than a dry press of lips against lips but it rapidly becomes one of Nines’ favourite memories either way.

The first night in their apartment is lovely. Gavin lays sprawled over the couch, trapped there by a very displeased Tripod, who’s been very vocal about her abandonment now that Gavin splits his attention and affection between her and Nines. So, to appease her, he is making cooing noises and giving her all the pets and scratches The Queen requires with a fond smile tugging at his lips. Nines for his part is curled up on the window sill, an unread book balanced on his knee while he tries to capture Gavin’s likeness in a sketchbook reserved for domestic moments just like these.

He never quite succeeds. But that’s alright, he figures. No work of art could capture Gavin’s subtle allure or the mischievous shine in those pale eyes. And that’s okay, because Nines would much rather keep them to himself. No matter how selfish it is of him, he’d preferably not share his beloved with anyone.

-~-

It happened for the first time while they were walking through the botanical gardens together.

Being a detective, Gavin must inevitably have picked up on his fascination with all things relating to plants and had planned one of their dates accordingly. They wander languidly through the gravel walkways, hand in hand, Nines’ LED a cacophony of mixing colours as he takes in the sights. In the heart of the plants displayed, he spots a tall-growing shrubbery of red roses. He quickened his pace, practically dragging an amused Gavin behind, and came to a stop right in front of them. _Rosa gallica_ his scans dutifully proclaim whilst he circles the blooming flowers with keen interest.

The red ones look just like the ones in his garden, they look like Amanda’s roses; the roses Nines now meticulously prunes and waters and _loves_ like it would help them grow. Gavin is chuckling and Nines tears his eyes away from the flowers to gaze over his boyfriend instead.

A captivating, lovely sight, in Nines’ entirely unbiased opinion.

“If I’d known you’d like it this much, I’d have taken you earlier,” Gavin smiles and something inside Nines melts at the unabashedly proclaimed words.

“You did know I’d like it though.”

“Well... yeah,” Gavin boops his nose with a finger and Nines goes cross-eyed when he tries to follow its path. “I just... like seeing you happy.”

Nines melts a little more. “And have you enjoyed yourself, Gav? Any blooms catch your interest?” he nudges Gavin with his shoulder, delighted when Gavin leans into him.

“None of them are as pretty as you,” Gavin says, inflection rising at the end as if it were a question though in a tone managing to sound so matter of fact, Nines is forced to fight down a staticky burst of laughter. “I’m having fun, promise,” Gavin continues and vows not to let Nines know he’d spent the majority of the time watching him instead. It’s hard to help it when Nines looks so adorably eager, crouching down and stepping up on his tip-toes to observe the vegetation, and sometimes thriving wildlife, closer; all without letting go of Gavin’s hand. And then it just slips out, as easily as breathing. “I love you.”

Nines will be forever grateful he was watching Gavin in that moment. Because now he could replay the memory again and again in his darker moments and watch the movements of Gavin’s lips, take in the enamoured expression on his partner’s face alongside hearing the sweet sound of his husky voice confessing his affections.

He’s at a loss for what to do but thankfully his body moves on autopilot to lean down and capture Gavin’s lips in a deep, lingering kiss.

“I love you too,” he whispers, once they break apart. ‘It’s true’, he thinks to himself, he loves this man, with all that he is.

Gavin offers him a tender smile and Nines is certain he already knew, even if he himself was a bit slow on the uptake.

They stay until the workers announce it is closing time over the intercom, trading loving kisses in secluded corners and sharing secret smiles amongst the never-ending rows of flowers in bloom. Come morning, there are pages upon pages of multicoloured drawings spread out over their bed. Watercolours flowing to capture the lavender and daffodils and gladiolus and the abundance of other vegetation he’d seen the previous day... along with a single, lovingly crafted portrait of his love; smiling bright enough to rival the sun.

-~-

“I’d like to try having sex,” Nines says and watches Gavin choke on nothing. A blush flares to life over his cheeks and nose.

“Fuck! Nines, you can’t just say stuff like _that_ without warning!” Gavin hisses and guides him further into the breakroom, gaze flickering over to their co-workers. “Also-” Gavin gestures around them, “-we’re at work!”

“My bad.” Nines pings Gavin’s phone instead.

 _‘I want to have sex with you.’_ The message reads when Gavin glances down at the screen and Nines grins inwardly when he sees the red flush spread down the back of Gavin’s neck and over the tips of his ears. “Fucking hell,” Gavin mutters and takes a deep breath, stapling the tips of his fingers together and tilting his hands quickly in Nines’ direction. “First of all, I’m down. But I’m not risking our jobs. And second: you deserve better than some quick fuck over the closest available surface. If we’re doing this, we’re doing it right.”

“Okay,” A steady wave of giddiness washes through Nines and he leans down to plant a kiss on Gavin’s cheek. “Soon.”

His partner flushes a shade darker and lets out a strangled: “U-huh.” Nines throws him a quick wink and bounds back to his desk, settling in for the last couple of hours of work before the evening.

-~-

Nines sinks down on the bed, Gavin standing between his spread legs, while they trade lazy exploratory kisses. A few of them allow time for mapping each other’s mouths whilst others are a simple, rapid press of closed lips. He appreciates the wetness of it, is fascinated by the string of viscous saliva tying them together before it eventually breaks with distance. Gavin mutters a breathy suggestion for him to scootch up towards the headboard and lie down. A request Nines happily obliges.

His partner goes slowly, tugging his own shirt off first before working on removing Nines’. Then, when the material has sailed to the other side of the room, Gavin leaves a trail of kisses from where Nines’ belly button should be up to his parted lips.

Teeth sink into his bottom lip, a gentle pressure to send his thirium pump fluttering, before Gavin laps over it in apology and hungrily dives his tongue back into Nines’ mouth. Nines shivers at the pleasant sensation of Gavin’s tongue caressing his own before it drags over a particularly sensitive plate on the roof of his mouth. He sighs at that, mouth slackening a bit as he carefully logs the new data... to review at a later time.

Gavin’s breathing had picked up by the time they parted again, from lack of oxygen and arousal. Nines can see the increase in his heartbeat as acutely as he feels it beneath his fingertips. His dopamine levels have spiked too and Nines leans up on his elbows to lick over a bead of sweat with interest, wondering what it would taste like if he’d been able to perceive taste the same way humans did.

The chemical compound materializes over Nines’ HUD alongside Gavin’s file. He dismisses the tabs and fiddles around with his settings to be able to see Gavin clearly instead of through a series of _unnecessary_ warning and error messages.

He leans up for another kiss and Gavin meets him halfway, nibbling over his bottom lip with a small smirk, well-aware of Nines’ strange fascination with all things human.

Eventually Gavin sits back up again and the playful aura around him dissipates, expression turning deadly serious. “Promise me you’ll speak up if something I do makes you uncomfortable or... y’know, if you simply wish to stop,” Gavin says while tapping a restless rhythm on Nines’ sternum with his fingers.

“Of course.” Nines isn’t sure why he ever would. Not when Gavin pressed against him feels this nice; just like it had that time in the alley but even more pleasurable now with skin to skin contact.

“Good,” Gavin murmurs and Nines is helpless to suppress a full-body shiver at the word; warmth flooding him at the simple praise. And Gavin, of course, takes notice. “You look so beautiful spread out on my bed, sweetheart,” he continues experimentally and Nines lets out a breathy sigh, a pretty flush slowly spreading over his cheeks. “Will you be good for me, Nines?”

“Yes,” he whispers, eyes fluttering closed.

An outdrawn hum slips past Gavin’s lips and he awards Nines with another slick kiss. “Don’t hold back baby, I bet you sound lovely when you moan,” Gavin nips at his jaw and the mix of sensations and filthy words awards him a shuddering, needy keen.

Nines’ chest seems to lack the appropriate sensors to really fry his circuits with pleasure. The sensation of Gavin’s lips and tongue is... nice, but no more than his fingers would be. Though when he trails his teeth around the seam of his thirium pump regulator, Nines moans in surprise, twitching at the bolt of white-hot pleasure searing through the entirety of his internal network. Gavin pauses briefly and Nines can feel him smile against the blue circle of light.

He proceeds to lap around the shallow crevice running between his regulator and the rest of his chassis until Nines clenches his fists in the bedding with a wanton moan. Piece by piece, the skin around it draws back and _oh_ , that’s even better; every touch feeling heightened in comparison to before.

Once Nines is squirming, impatient for more, Gavin moves his hands down to tease the waistband of Nines’ pants. Despite the small incline of trembling anxiousness, Nines nods when Gavin glances up at him for confirmation. A fleeting pause once his pants are off and then gentle fingers tease over his blank pubic mound. Gavin doesn’t shy away from pressing butterfly kisses against it. “Okay, darlin’?” he asks.

“Mhm,” Nines hums and curls his toes, the only part he’s close enough to reach his goal with, to tug at Gavin’s pant leg. “Off.”

“Bossy,” Gavin smiles but obliges him anyway. He’s never been able to deny Nines a single thing.

With little grace, he kicks them off along with his underwear, and his cock bobs up towards his stomach. It’s a relief to be free of the constricting fabric of his jeans and he sighs appreciatively. When he turns his attention back to the gorgeous android in his bed, Nines is staring unblinkingly up; gaze focused between his legs. Nines reaches out with a tentative finger and trails it from base to tip, watching keenly as Gavin’s penis twitches at the curious touch. Gavin catches the wandering hand with his own and presses a brief kiss to the tips of Nines’ fingers. “Let me take care of you.”

A shy nod and Nines makes himself comfortable again.

Gavin continues his earlier trail of kisses between Nines’ legs, feeling the space with both fingers and lips. The skin retracts there too, so he dives in with renewed energy hoping to bring Nines the pleasure he deserves. There’s a thin line there as well, from where different plates are fastened together, so Gavin swipes his tongue over it with interest.

Nines moans, in a low, breathy kind of way, and spreads his thighs further apart.

Still... Gavin wants him to feel more than just good; he wants to see Nines fall apart.

There are several ports spread across Nines’ body, ranging in size and placement, from what Gavin had learned during his incognito research. Gavin scrapes his nails over the one a few inches below Nines’ thirium pump regulator and pauses in his ministrations, taking the time to wipe the drool off his chin, and look Nines in the eyes when posing his next suggestion. “I’d like to finger your wires.”

Nines’ flush spreads down his bare chest at the lewd request but he obediently opens the hatch with nimble fingers. A warning pops up about the unnecessary action. He dismisses it just in time to be able to focus on the result of his actions; the heated clash of lips as Gavin devours his mouth.

He’ll never tire of the thrill of analysing Gavin’s saliva. Its components shift slightly each time but fundamentally there’s always Gavin – his DNA, his taste – to sample. Besides... he enjoys having a part of Gavin with him until his systems absorb the liquid and turns it into something useful; be it lubricant for his joints or distilling it into analysing fluid.

Mid-kiss, without warning, Gavin plunges two fingers into his stomach cavity.

Nines’ back arches and he throws his head to the side with a staticky shout. It’s an intense, burning kind of pleasure which sears through every artificial nerve ending he possesses. The place where Gavin’s fingers are stroking him, with it being the epicentre, the wires there are aflame with titillating stimulation. He’s glad Gavin’s head isn’t between his legs anymore because Nines is certain he would have accidentally choked him to death with how tightly they’ve clamped down around his lover.

His chest heaves with the effort of cooling him down while the sensations he’s bombarded with settles into something a little less intense though it takes a while longer before he’s more acclimated to them, at least in some form, and Gavin’s gentle praise slowly filters back through his buzzing audio processors.

“–at you,” Gavin breathes, in awe of the Adonis sprawled out on their bed. “I wish you could see how gorgeous you look, darlin’. Tell me how you feel.”

Another shudder wracks through him at the words. “S-sss-so- _oh!_ good, si-ir.”

If he’d had the capacity to do anything but lay there, lost in the throes of pleasure, Nines would have noticed the effect his words had on Gavin. The title, falling so easily from Nines’ full lips, has his dick twitching and he shoves his free hand between his thighs to press against the base of his penis; a valiant effort in trying to stave off his impending orgasm.

Nines first.

Gavin throws himself back into reducing Nines to an incoherent, blubbering mess of mostly static and metallic whining. He experiments with pressing two tubes together, grinding them against each other, and Nines’ hands rip through the straining sheets until he’s clutching fistfuls of tattered rags. Scraping his nails against the edge of a port, located somewhere deep inside Nines’ chest cavity, earns him the prettiest attempt at saying his name he’s ever heard; complete with eyelids fluttering with the effort of staying open. Unhooking wires and pushing them back in their respective places has the dermal layer covering Nines’ frame glitching in large patches followed by a screech at such a high frequency it’s undetectable by human hearing.

When Nines finally tips over the edge, his vision turns stark white. Wave after wave of pleasure laps through every crevice of his chassis and eventually his systems force a soft reboot to keep up with the never-ending influx of data.

Nines is still floating, blissed out and mind blank for once in his life, when a needy, muffled whimper pierces through the air. He turns his head lazily as the last aftershocks of orgasm flutter through his systems to see Gavin with one hand firmly planted over his mouth while rocking into the cupped palm of his other; the one liberally stained with blue. His eyes are half-lidded when he looks down upon Nines’ debauched form and his hips stutter in their rapid pace. “Please,” he sobs. “Please I–!”

The desperation is pouring off of him in waves and Nines reaches, hands trembling, to feebly tug Gavin closer and slot a muscular thigh between his legs. Gavin groans, low and long, and abandons his own hand to rock against Nines with renewed fervour. He seems not at all concerned when Nines’ skin retracts from there as well. On the contrary, his pace quickens at the sight of dull gunmetal-grey; mesmerised by the thin strings of pre-cum gleaming across its smooth surface.

And he begs so prettily, all sniffling breaths and high-pitched keens, so of course Nines indulges him accordingly by moving a hand devoid of synthetic skin down to his ass and begins tugging him forward, then back, over and over again to help him along. His fingers slip accidentally between Gavin’s cheeks; the tips of two fingers brushing against his furled hole. It causes Gavin to jolt as if struck and another fat glob of pre rolls from the tip of his dick to add to the liquid already coating Nines’ thigh liberally.

Humans were so... messy.

It was a sentiment Nines found himself admiring in this circumstance, following a bead of sweat and its journey down Gavin’s neck with interest. His fingers stroke down the cleft of Gavin’s ass again and he slips the very tip of a finger inside him.

It’s enough. The burn of it pushing in and the warm, smooth surface sliding against his straining cock has Gavin tipping over the edge with Nines’ name spilling from his lips in time with the fluid sputtering from his pulsing dick.

His hips continue their gyrating movements long after his cock has stopped ejaculating, beginning to soften as it drags through his self-made mess, but the biting stimulation is too good to pass up on and Nines certainly doesn’t seem to mind either; since he’s actively encouraging him by massaging his ass cheeks with firm pressure while smiling softly.

When Gavin is well and truly spent, he collapses bonelessly over Nines’ chest. The firm weight of him pressing Nines further into the mattress is pleasing in an entirely different way. Nines sighs contentedly and drags curious fingers through the cooling cum staining him. He wants to taste it. So, he brings the digits up to his face, fully intending on popping them into his mouth.

Someone else gets to them first.

Gavin wraps his lips around Nines’ fingers and suckles them clean. The way his tongue moves over them, pressing Nines’ fingers against the roof of his mouth before swirling around and between them, sends shockwaves through Nines' artificial nervous system. Apart from his mouth, his fingers are the most sensitive part on his entire body.

Nines’ moan cracks a bit and Gavin smirks around his fingers. They are released almost instantaneously, now shining slick with saliva instead of ejaculate, while Gavin’s lips stretch into a shit-eating grin. Nines pouts a little, bottom lip sticking out in an adorable fashion. “I just wanted–” he pauses, a little embarrassed at the brazen words he’s about to say, “–to taste it.”

His partner blinks at him owlishly and then shimmies down his body to lave over the remains of his release. When Gavin comes back up and captures Nines’ lips in a kiss, he uses it as an excuse to spit his own cum into Nines’ mouth. Nines trills happily at the filthy offering and goes so far as to chase the interesting taste by delving his tongue into Gavin’s mouth after swallowing.

It’s a different texture compared to saliva and he rolls the remnants around his mouth before swallowing again. Not bad.

“Your sperm count is exponentia–” Nines begins to say but is quickly shut down by a hand slapping over his mouth and Gavin’s near-horrified expression.

“Do _NOT_ finish that sentence.”

“Or what?” Nines fires back as soon as Gavin removes his hand and it turns into another messy swapping of spit.

“Shower,” Gavin mumbles around a yawn some time later. He heaves himself off the bed with Nines quick to follow.

The android follows him like a shadow, dismayed when Gavin turns the knob on the shower to start it. It’s necessary of course. They both reek of sex and are covered in fluids of various kinds. Speaking of... Nines gives in to the persistent, nagging thought he hadn’t been able to escape since watching Gavin pleasure himself and manhandles him to sit on the lip of the tub. All so he can swallow Gavin’s limp cock down to the root.

His partner shrieks piercingly loud and his fingers claws over Nines’ broad shoulders until his chassis shows through. Nines, for his part, is quite satisfied with finally being able to taste his own thirium off of Gavin’s genitals and shows it by humming in appreciation. A pathetic whine echoes through the bathroom when Nines applies gentle suction before he’s reluctantly pulled back by Gavin digging his fingers into his scalp, clutching at the strands of his hair to try and yank him off. Nines’ blueish-grey eyes bore into Gavin’s and his lips twitch upon noticing how Gavin’s dick has filled again into a half-chub, wondering if he’d be allowed to suckle Gavin’s cum down while it was still warm this time if his partner didn’t mind continuing their tryst in the shower.

“You’re going to be the death of me,” Gavin wheezes.

Nines dips down, lightning quick, to lap over the head again before rising from his kneeling position between Gavin’s spread knees. He can’t grin but his eyes are glowing with repressed laughter when he has to catch his lover from slipping backwards with a yelped curse.

-~-

Nines walks through his Zen Garden, marvelling at the difference between now and two years ago. Flowers and bushes and trees have sprung up until it looks more like a well-kept jungle of flora instead of a barren, icy wasteland. Instead of the white mushroom-like structure in the middle of the lake, there’s a gazebo in its place. Bridges of well-worn wood have appeared so one can walk there without trouble and that’s where Nines ends up. He watches the fishes swimming in the pond surrounding the small island. It reminds him of the botanical gardens and the memories of that time brings a smile to his face.

He exits stasis to find Gavin wrapped around his back, Tripod curled up by their feet, and the small smile from before slowly works its way over his lips out here too.

He's home.

-~-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are always appreciated! Hope you all liked it as much as I enjoyed writing this!

**Author's Note:**

> caffeinatedjimmie's [tumblr](https://caffeinatedjimmie.tumblr.com)  
> and [mine](https://allegedlyanandroid.tumblr.com)


End file.
